Stubborn Fire Destroys Boynton Home

Blaze Rekindled After Fire Fighters Left

BOYNTON BEACH - — All that's left of Mack Johnson's home of 28 years are four concrete walls and a charred roof.

"Everything is gone," Johnson said as he sat under a tree in his front yard on Friday. "But it could have been worse. My family was not hurt, and everybody is safe."

Johnson's $80,000 home in the 600 block of Northwest Fifth Street sustained about $30,000 in damage when a fire gutted it on Thursday night, fire officials said.

Worse, the fire rekindled about five hours after firefighters left, destroying the few items Johnson had been able to save after the first fire.

Investigators think the original fire started from an electrical water heater inside a utility room, but they aren't sure whether to blame a short or faulty wiring.

The fire broke out shortly after 7 p.m., while Johnson, 49, was away. His wife, Margaret, was cooking and his daughter, Marlo, was in a front bedroom.

Marlo smelled smoke and went to investigate. She saw flames coming from the utility room, said Fire Department spokesman Bob Borden.

Margaret and Marlo Johnson tried to put out the fire, but were overcome. "They tried to put it out but they didn't have time to do anything," Johnson said. "That thing was spreading like a wildfire."

Fire officials said they might have been able to save the home if they had been called sooner.

"It's a natural tendency to want to take care of an emergency like that yourself," Borden said. "The Fire Department would be glad to know that you took care of the emergency before they got there, but the sooner you call them, the better the chances are of them responding in time and controlling the fire."

Fueled by furniture and other artifacts collected over 28 years, the blaze ripped through the three-bedroom house. The only room spared was a Florida room in the rear of the house.

The Johnsons managed to save a closet of clothes, a computer, a 40-inch-screen television and other furniture in the Florida room.

But at 5:45 a.m., as Johnson kept vigil for looters in his Jeep, he heard an explosion inside the house. Metal air vents rocketed from the sides of the house and thick smoke billowed through the windows, he said.

"They contained [the fire) to the front of the house but it was not all out," Johnson said. "It just rekindled itself up in the loft.' Borden said wind can reignite rubble in the aftermath of a fire, especially if the building is open. "Some fires are a bit stubborn."

As family members combed through the remnants of the home on Friday, Johnson maintained high hopes that he will rebuild. He and his family have been staying with relatives in the area.

"I'll put it back, but first thing first," he said. "I'll get my family located then I will take things from there."